Japanese Jackson

Is learning Japanese Software Really Worth It?

2009-02-08T17:50:00.000-08:00

A question that I have asked and many people have is "does learning Japanese with software program work?"

I think that's a fair enough question, I don't blame people for being hesitant about buying things online considering we get bombarded with so many messages there days that to be honest sound to good to be true, like "earn a million dollar in 2 day with no experience guaranteed!" when I read this type of ads I just think, dude do you really think I am that stupid!! why not just be honest and say "This works for some people and not for others, see if it for you?"....then again that doesn't seem to sell now does it.

Japanese is a fun language and very entertaining culture to learn about, I have had some fun and embarrassing times being introduced to the Japanese culture, and you can read a funny story here: Japanese Culture

Anyway when it comes to learning a new language such as Japanese with software I was skeptical and did my homework. You can find out more about learning Japanese with software here: Japanese learning software

20 million jobs!!

2009-02-05T20:09:00.000-08:00

Well I thought I would change the flavor of this post a little an discuss the fact that 20 MILLION CHINESE LOST THEIR JOBS THIS MONTH!!!!!! This figure blew me away and I couldn't help but feel ill. I live in Australia and that is the total population of our country.

Apparently the Japanese economy is struggling too, and the car manufacturers are feeling the pinch with an expected 100,000 jobs to be lost in the next few months alone.

Is Japan heading for a recession, it is hard to say, but one thing is for sure they will be the most likely to bust out of one if they do as the work ethic in Japan is second to nowhere else in the world.

Perhaps a good time to learn Japanese in time for a economic rebound in years to come....for more information about the learning Japanese click here: Learn Japanese Fast

A Glance At Japanese Colors

2009-02-03T00:26:00.000-08:00

I caught up with my Japanese friend Yukari recently and over dinner conversation she asked about my car and wanted to know what color it was, and said in Japanese to me "anata no kuruma wa nani iro desu ka" and I replied saying "Watashi no kuruma wa iro desu" which means my car is red!

Pretty straight forward little sentence that is a great way to learn how to use Japanese color words in sentences.

If you aren't not familiar with Japanese colors words then you can watch this fun YouTube video which explains them for you: Learning To Speak Japanese

Japanese Phrases

2009-01-02T14:57:00.000-08:00

Well Today I decided to do a quick lesson on some very useful Japanese phrases.

The sentences that we are going to look at are focused on possession, and care worth looking at as they are a little different than in English.

First let's learn how to "My friend"

In Japanese you would say: "Watashi no Tomodachi"

The word 'Watashi' in this instance means "My" and the word "No" indicates possession. Finally the word "Tomodachi" means friend. Easy!!

Well let now check out how to say: "I have coins"

We would say: "Watashi wa koin o moteimasu"

The word :"Watashi" means "I" in this case and the word for coins is "Koin" and finally verb "Moteimasu" is for "have"

OK so the last sentence we will check out today is: "I have a house"

Here we say: "Watashi wa Ie ga arimasu"

This is an interesting translation as you it literally means: "I house there is" and the verb "arimasu" is used for non-living things. If you were to say I have a sister, you would use the verb "imasu". The word for house is "ie"

Well I hope you learned something helpful!!

If you want to learn some more Japanese Phrases I have a free lesson on my website and a 100% free 7 day Japanese audio course for absolute beginners, check them out here: Learn Speak Japanese

Also you can find some more lessons on my tumblr page here: More Japanese Phrases

Japanese Time

2009-01-01T20:24:00.000-08:00

Hi Guys,

Today I thought about a really cool topic that is great for people that want to learn Japanese, and that telling the time! So let's get into it

The first thing that you need to learn before you can learn the time is Japanese numbers.

1 - Ichi

2 - Ni

3 - San

4 - Shi/Yon

5 - G0

6 - Roku

7 - Nana/ shichi

8 - Hachi

9 - Kyu

10 - Juu

Great! Now let's take a quick look at how to say the minutes in Japanese as these are not exactly like numbers but I am sure you will see the similarities.

1 Ip-pun

2 Ni-fun

3 Sam-pun

4 Yom-pun

5 Go-fun

6 Rop-pun

7 Nana-fun

8 Hap-pun

9 Kyu-fun

10 Jup-pun

"What's the time now?"

Ok so in order to ask: 'What's the time?' you say 'Ima nan ji desu ka'

Make sure that you don't pronounce the 'U' in desu.

When saying the time you simply say the number and then after it say the word for O'clock, which is 'Ji'. So 5 O'clock is 'Go ji'

Now let's have a look at hours and minutes together:

2:46 would be: Ni Ji Yon Juu Roppun desu. So as you can see you use a combination of numbers to form larger numbers, so 40 was 'yon' and 'juu' together and then 46 adding roppun on the end.

Next you need to know how to same A.M. or P.M.

It help you know if it morning or evening, so to do that all you need to do is add 'Gozen' from a.m. and Gogo for p.m. in the front of the sentence. So 7:12 p.m is: Gogo Nana ji Juu nippun

The last thing I want to show you today is how to say half past the hour. The word we use is "han". So to say 5:30, we say Go ji han desu.

That's all for today, so now you can confidentally ask and tell someone the time in Japanese!

If you want my advice on the best ways to learn Japanese and also grab a 100% free 7 day audio course you can do so on my website here: Rocket-Japanese-Review

I also have another lesson here too: Useful Japanese Travel Phrases

Learn Japanese

2008-12-30T15:45:00.000-08:00

Hi there,

I first starting learning Japanese years ago and remember what it's like to start learning the language. One thing that I have noticed is that the sooner someone starts actually speaking Japanese, even if it's only a couple of basic sentences they tend to be motivated by that and stick with it.

On that note I thought I would put together a basic lesson for anyone that wants to learn Japanese.

Let's start by looking at basic Greetings. It does depend on what time of the day you are greeting someone and the formality of the situation.

Good day: Konnichi Wa

This can be used most times of the day really, and it is slightly more formal than a regular 'Hi' would be.

Good Morning: Ohayo Gozaimasu or Ohayo

This first phrase is the more formal So if your name was John: Wastashi wa John desu

However make sure you are aware that the word 'San' is placed after someone else's name if you are introducing them, as 'san' is a polite addition. For example Michael san.

NOTE: Japanese people often say their surname first and then the first name, for example: Sazuki Yukari . I embarrassed myself once by calling a person I met, now my friend, by her last name for ages before she clarified this point.

Following on from telling someone your name you can then explain your nationality and to do this you say: Watashi wa (nationality) jin desu.

Being English you would say: Watashi wa Igirisu jin desu

The next thing that I will do is have a quick look at verbs and how to say that something exists. The verb to say there is an 'object' apposed to a 'person' is: Arimasu, however if you want to say that you have a brother or sister etc.. then the verb is: Imasu

Let's have a look at two examples:

There is a Bridge: Hashi(bridge) ga arimasu

I have a wife: Tsuma(wife) ga imasu (this literal translation in english would be more like "there is a wife" as possession the way we say in English doesn't translate in Japanese)

The word 'Ga' is called a particle, but we won't look at them now.

A brief look at some difference tenses of sentences and we'll wrap it up by looking at the sentence "I don't understand".

Do you understand? Wakarimashtaka

Yes I understand: Hai(yes) Waikarimashta

No I don't understand: Iie(no) wakarimasen

I hope you enjoyed learning some basic Japanese, now go and practice with the next Japanese speaker you meet.

There are a number of great ways to learn Japanese and if you want my advice on the best methods available click here: Japanese language course, and make sure you grab my 7 day beginner audio course while you there too.

I also have some more free tips here: Learn Japanese for Free

Take care!

The Secret to Japanese Health

2008-12-28T21:14:00.000-08:00

I have been doing some research into Japanese health and found it very interesting that although Japan has the highest percentage of male smokers in the world at a whopping 75% approx...they also have the longest age expectancy and low smoking related diseases.

Very interesting...

Anyway I did some more research and although baffled over this some scientists believe that the Japanese diet plays a role. High levels of Green Tea with its anti-oxidants may be reducing the negative effects of cigarettes.

Not only that but the Japanese at meal time share food as it is served in dishes and people believe that you slower and less amount this way, as your brain has time to register that you have has enough. This leads to less weight gain and health benefits!!

Finally the Japanese also have very low saturated fat in their food and instead of filling up on foods like cookies, cakes and biscuits they will have complex carbohydrates such as rice. The health benefits of this are once again evident.

Something to think about....